James Goularte

James Goularte Sr., 85, of San Diego died Christmas Day. He was born at home on West Atlantic Street, in San Diego, to Andrea Fidel and Frank Goularte Jr. The second of four children and was a member of the Mission de la Alcala band of Kumeyaay. James was known by his family and friends as Sonny Boy. Sonny Boy grew up in Little Italy with his siblings Frances, Frank III, and Sally Ann. He was fortunate to have his cousins Florence and Bobby Oliver close at hand to get into mischief. He attended Washington Elementary and Roosevelt. James loved learning but didn’t like the traditional educational learning methods and by his mid-teens ended up joining the CDF Firefighters. When he was 17 years old, he talked his Mom into letting him enlist in the U.S. Navy. He proudly served on three different ships during WWII but loved the time he spent on the USS Nashville CL-44.

About 1951, he married his first wife, Florentina Orozco, in not one but three different ceremonies. Out of this union were born Patrick, James Jr., Carol, Sonseeahray, Lydia, and Victor. While married to Tina, he started working for the Navy Hospital and participated in the Boys Scouts and the Knights of Columbus. In 1974 he divorced Tina. In addition, to working at the Navy Hospital James owned and operated a landscaping business called “Santiago’s.”

Shortly after his divorce, James met Rosa and moved to Tijuana. James was fond of Rosa’s three children Lupe, Paco, and Ismael. Out of this union were born Guillermo, Francisco, Miguel, Steven (deceased), and Jonathan. In 1994, on a trip to Nevada he married Rosa.

After working 35 years for the Naval Hospital, James retired. During his retirement, he loved to travel, spend time with his family and never met a casino or buffet that he didn’t enjoy. He loved to read books, watch the Padres and Chargers play, complete jigsaw puzzles, eat cherry pies, and collected coffee cups.

He leaves behind his wife Rosa, 13 children, 28 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren and a tribe of nieces and nephews that will always miss him.